Publisher's Synopsis
This volume of "Progress in Pesticide Biochemistry and Toxicology" addresses an important aspect of environmental toxicology - that of the fate of pesticides in the environment. The distribution of agrochemicals close to the area of application is an aspect which has been under study for many years. Awareness of pesticide movement away from the point of application was initially heightened by two findings - run off from application areas (into waterways), and the discovery of persistent pesticide residues in wildlife and man.;Attention has been focused on issues such as persistence and the studies on the fate of new pesticides have increased in scope to include potential ground water contamination, fate in various aquatic systems and fate following volatilization. The increased understanding derived from the study of environmental fate should lead to an improvement in the ability to predict problems and should encourage the development of screening methods and modelling procedures to identify compounds worthy of more detailed investigation.;The delicate balance of the aquatic environment is clearly potentially at risk from the misuse of agrochemicals or from the introduction of unsuitable chemicals. Three chapters cover these aspects, including theoretical aspects and the value of laboratory studies. This is followed by a consideration of studies in the "field" - natural water and sediment systems. The fate of pesticides in fish is treated in detail, reflecting a considerable amount of research which has been carried out in recent years, the position of fish at the top of the aquatic food chain, and their role as a component of human diet. Finally, the importance of sunlight, an enormous energy source, in pesticide degradation is discussed. This chapter includes vapour phase and aquatic phorolysis.;In summary, this volume brings together reviews and updates covering many of the current areas of interest in the area of pesticide fate which will hopefully be of direct use to those in industry, government laboratories, universities and in regulatory roles.
